Kristen Billiar

Professor and Department Head

EDUCATION

BS Cornell University 1991

MSE University of Pennsylvania 1992

PhD University of Pennsylvania 1998

Expert Bio

Professor Billiar studies the mechanisms by which mechanical forces regulate the development and healing of connective tissues and the pathogenesis of disease is becoming one of the foremost problems at the intersection of biomechanics and cell biology. The body’s soft tissues experience forces during exercise (muscles contract and pull on tendons and ligaments) and at rest (blood vessels stretch with each heart beat). Understanding the mechanisms that enable a cell to “feel” a force, interpret this event, and react to it, has applications in numerous diseases.

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Bioengineer.org

WPI researcher leads project to determine how stretching and blood flow impact engineered heart valves

Bioengineer.org and the Worcester Business Journal wrote about how Kris Billiar, professor and head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, received a $430,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study how cells move and behave in tissue-engineered heart valves.

Worcester Business Journal

WPI professor aims to understand life and death of our cells

The Worcester Business Journal is the latest to report on research by Kristen Billiar, professor and head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, who hopes to close an important gap in the understanding of physical factors that help regulate the life and death of cells in our bodies, and the important roles they play in the development of a wide range of disorders. Co-principle investigators include Nima Rahbar, associate professor of civil & environmental engineering, and Qi Wen, associate professor of physics.

Kristen Billiar

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